1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a brake mechanism for a fishing reel, and more particularly to an improvement in a brake mechanism having radially displaceable braking pieces disposed on a spool shaft or a rotating system interlocked with a spool, and a friction member contactable by the braking pieces under the centrifugal force occurring with rotation of the spool, thereby applying a braking force to the spool rotation.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known brake mechanism as constructed above (hereinafter called a centrifugal brake) is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1955-8116, for example. This centrifugal brake includes rod-like members extending radially of a shaft rotatable with a spool, tubular braking pieces slidably mounted on the rod-like members, and an annular friction member disposed outwardly of a locus of revolution of the braking pieces. When the spool rotates, the braking pieces move into contact with the friction member and a braking force based on the friction is applied to the spool rotation.
The above centrifugal brake applies the braking force reliably with rotation of the spool immediately after bait casting action, and is often employed in existing baitcasting reels. To adjust the braking force of the known centrifugal brake, the reel body is disassembled to expose the brake and replace the braking pieces with those having a different coefficient of friction or a different weight.
On the other hand, lures and other baits are changed frequently in a fishing mode called bait casting. It is sometimes desirable to adjust the braking force after changing the baits.
This type of brake mechanism is intended for suppressing backlash at a casting time. The heavier the bait is, the stronger the braking force should be.
With the conventional brake mechanism, however, adjustment of the braking force requires a troublesome operation as noted above. Moreover, the braking force is adjustable only stepwise, which makes it difficult to adjust the braking force with subtlety. Thus, there is room for improvement.
The braking force is steplessly adjustable in the case of what is known as a mag-brake having an electric conductor mounted in a spool driving system, and magnets positionally adjustably mounted on a reel body. However, the mag-brake cannot apply the braking force immediately after bait casting action as reliably as the centrifugal brake. Thus, there are demands for a centrifugal brake whose braking force is steplessly adjustable.